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Models should slouch a little when they poseRemember how your mom used to yell at you… Sit up strait. Put your shoulders back, quit slouching! She probably ruined you for life, as far as our modeling career is concerned. Sure, there are times when you need to be able to sit or stand erect, but more times than not, you will look more natural, more comfortable and less “posed” if ya have a little slouch going on. It’s the first thing I tell a new model. “Quit standing up so damn strait!” “You look like someone shoved a board up… “ Well, you get the idea. Slouching isn’t just a shoulders thing either… Probably the easiest thing to do to make yourself (the model) more comfortable looking, is to put uneven weight on your two feet. If you do this, your “off weight” knee will bend slightly, giving you a much more relaxed appearance. Two strait legs is not a natural way for people to stand normally. Sure, They do it for short periods of time, but more often than not, you’ll see people with 80% of their weight on one foot. Go to the supermarket and see for yourself. |
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| This was a shot for a brochure for the brick company. They wanted to show their employees in a few shots. He may not look all that happy, but boy does he look “natural”. I’ll have to work on the “happy” part, next time. :+)
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| This shot was for a college recruitment brochure. We were using actual students and following the direction of an Agency Art Director. I was very pleased with this girl’s slouch and how she was able to position herself in a very natural and flowing way. Note the lean on the right elbow and the way both her left elbow and wrist bend to create a more casual and flowing pose and composition. Sitting on her leg adds to the casual feel of the shot. And it doesn’t hurt that she’s pretty too. Nice smile. Too bad she’s an amputee. No left foot. :+)
No matter how much I like a shot, I can always find fault in it if I look long enough… Yes, she has a foot. |
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Here’s a dairy farmer portrait I did for a seed company. This kind of says it all, casual and relaxed. Some subjects are just comfortable in front of the camera and some aren’t. He is. He’s a natural sloucher. And if you want to be a good model, you need to be able to slouch on demand. If you can’t, you need to practice. Just don’t do it in front of your mom. | |
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This portrait was for a magazine that was featuring the executive chef of a local resort. He has a little bit of “lean” going on and a little “head tilt”. The spread of books in the foreground is a little contrived, but that’s a subject for another web page… |
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One of the challenges of doing commercial people photography is creating compositions where all the needed elements are close enough together so that the shot doesn’t appear too far off. The Doctor on the right leaned into the frame, helping me keep the composition tight and at the same time making the doctor appear more natural and friendly. | |
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